Chapter 11 Scarlett
Scarlett
Everyone was wearing black today.
Mr. Nelson had died a few days ago. Natural causes Pastor Masters had said.
It was supposed to be a day of mourning, but all I could think about as the rain pattered on our umbrellas, was the warm gaze lingering on the back of my neck.
I didn’t think he would come this morning. He had been gone for a few weeks now, something I was used to at this point.
It warmed me from the chill that had swallowed Seattle whole this morning.
Louis Nelson was dead, and Don Bastrom had taken his place. Pastor Masters had announced it after they lowered the casket into the grave.
I knew Mr. Bastrom. He hated following the rules, but what struck me as odd was why he was announced as the new Leader and not Azrael.
It’s been almost three years. I knew it took a long time to work through the ranks, but everyone knew that Azrael was in the running, that he was being tested. So, why had Pastor Masters picked someone who everyone knew broke all the rules over someone who might not have broken any?
Maybe Thomas had gotten to him. Maybe he had finally convinced his father that Azrael wasn’t who he portrayed himself to be in front of everyone else.
I wondered what his game was with that. Whatever his plan was, why risk it by saying such things to Thomas? Why not keep the act up all the time to ensure his place?
Unless…he wasn’t trying to be a Leader. Then what? What was his plan?
Soon after the first fistful of soil was thrown onto the casket, we made our way back to the venue.
An old cathedral near the cemetery that Pastor Masters had rented for us to use during the memorial.
The only reason they had been able to get everything together so fast was because Pastor Masters was so respected among the rich here.
He could get anything he wanted without lifting a finger.
It made me wonder if the Elders had made any move on The Family. I hadn’t heard anything more about it in so long…maybe The Family failed. Maybe the church had won. Maybe this was just what it would be forever.
They had drinks and food but from what I could hear, there wasn’t much drinking or eating going on, just a lot of talking. Mumbled conversations about this and that, nothing truly important.
I followed Thomas, noting the feet of those we passed. Men and women of the church. Not many regular members, mostly just Pillars, Leaders, their husbands and wives, their Favorites, and of course, the children of the Leaders.
This memorial was a good time to bring even the Favorites who didn’t come to church. Who were left at home to do whatever it was their Pillars wanted.
I should feel lucky. Thomas brought me everywhere.
He could have just ordered me to stay at his house and clean or do whatever it was he wanted me to do, but instead, he allowed me to come with him everywhere.
To see the ground of the buildings he visited.
The church, the van, this cathedral, the grass in the cemetery.
I wondered what the other Favorites saw in their homes.
Even after marrying, Pillars were allowed to continue to have as many Favorites as they wanted.
I even heard of some marrying multiple Favorites, they married their most favorite of them, giving them rules about never being shared again, and then married their other Favorites and shared them with whoever they wanted.
There were even some Pillars that coveted all of their Favorites. They had six or more of them and didn’t share them with anyone.
I think that would be nice. To be coveted that much by my Pillar that he didn’t want to share me ever again.
Thomas had already made his promises though. We will be married, but I would still belong to all of the Leaders. It wasn’t something I was looking forward to, knowing what that meant.
Once Thomas penetrated me, anyone could. Marriage was a sacred covenant between a husband and his wife, unless that husband wanted her to continue to worship man as God intended.
“Thomas.”
He paused for half a second before his feet switched directions, and I quickly followed after him. I couldn’t feel the warm gaze, but I wasn’t worried. If he left, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
However, he was a Pillar working his way up to Leader, Pastor Masters should have required him to be here.
To attend. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t made a Leader in lieu of Mr. Nelson’s passing.
Maybe it wasn’t just because of what Thomas might have told his father, maybe it was also because he had missed too many days.
We walked into a room with stone floors, just like the other rooms, and a round red and gold rug.
“Should she be here?” Mr. Kels spoke.
“She is well trained,” Pastor Masters assured them. “We all know that very well. Thomas, shut the door.”
I remained as still as possible, glancing around the floor just long enough to take in the feet of every Leader in our church except for Mr. Bastrom.
I heard the door shut behind me, Thomas’s shoes appearing a second later. “Go stand in the corner.”
I turned and walked towards the corner, a large window on my right, the door to my left.
I glanced towards the window, praying it was low enough for me to look out, and it was, but only a few inches. I could see some of the grass from here, but nothing else. No sky, no anything, just the green of the wet grass and some gravestones.
I remembered how beautiful the skies were. Bright blue or storming and filled with dark clouds. Today, they would have been filled with dark clouds, maybe they would have even lit up with lightning, although I had yet to hear any thunder.
I missed the sky. I hadn’t seen it since the day of my mother’s funeral.
“Mr. Bastrom will go through the initiation on Sunday morning,” Pastor Masters told the group. “Thomas, you’ll be leading it, leave her in the pew, the church will look after her.”
“And why didn’t you choose precious Thorin?” Thomas asked bitterly. “You two have been so close these last three years.”
Two years, 9 months and 13 days.
“He and I have an arrangement,” Pastor Masters answered. “He’s been vital for our transportation needs.”
“But you haven’t given him the title yet?” Mr. Kels asked. “That’s pretty risky, considering.”
Considering everything the church has gone through since hearing about his daughter. Why take such a risk?
“Things have changed,” Mr. Alascer stated coldly, “haven’t they, Garrett?”
He was asking for reassurances, I could hear it in his voice. He needed to know that they were still on good terms. But why? It’s been a long time since what happened in California. Why was he still worried about his position?
“You were getting careless,” Pastor Masters replied. “Louis followed in your steps. You were lucky, he wasn’t,” he stated simply.
“Not my steps,” he said icily. “My steps were far different, led by the help of Young. My steps were careful. Louis was careless when he took the advice of his son rather than listening to us. We will follow the same path if we continue going after them. We need to learn to leave well enough alone.”
“They won’t,” Mr. Edgars noted. “Charles and Louis started something we clearly haven’t been able to stop.”
So, they did try and make some sort of move on The Family. Clearly, it didn’t end well if Louis’ death was caused by them.
“Louis was an idiot trying to go at it with only his Favorites by his side. We are stronger than them,” Mr. Edgars stated evenly. “Better. They are so much smaller than us. Shadows were meant to run from the light. That’s what we are, the Church of Daylight. It’s our job to destroy the darkness.”
“I’m starting to consider that it’s the right thing to do,” Mr. Kels put in. “We have thousands. They are but one family.”
“We didn’t even get close to them,” Mr. Young huffed. “We were thwarted long before we could even find them, until Louis,” he went on with a breath.
“And then they killed him without hardly trying at all,” Thomas muttered. “Pathetic waste.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Pastor Masters ordered, his voice louder than the others.
“Louis is dead, Charles has fallen back in his actions so as not to draw any more attention, and Mr. Thorin will be helping us fill a void we so desperately needed filled. Don’t worry about The Family, the Elders will handle it. ”
“How do you know?” Mr. Alascer asked. “They never responded after our last message.”
“Yes, they have,” Pastor Masters said tightly. “A couple of times, but we are not permitted to know every ounce of information they have, that is why we are the Leaders, and they are the Elders. We must have faith.”
It was something he always said when things started looking uncertain. The last time he had said it, other than at the funeral, was the Sunday after the last driver died. He told us to have faith, and then Azrael walked right through the front doors.
I wondered who would come this time.
“Faith has always gotten us through. It will get us through now.”
“You’ve officially hired Azrael as the Transporter?” Thomas asked, changing the subject abruptly.
“It’s been almost three years, Thomas,” Mr. Young breathed out. “Don’t you think your father would have excommunicated him a long time ago had he felt otherwise?”
It did seem like a desperate question. Azrael had been transporting Favorites and the children of Favorites and Pillars alike for the last year and a half at least, if not longer.
To keep asking this question was disrespectful, but who was I to speak on what was respectful and what wasn’t?
I had countless lashings to prove how many times I had disrespected Thomas.
I shouldn’t have an opinion on this at all.
“You trust him enough to do this?” Thomas asked, ignoring Mr. Young completely.